Pittman, who carried 21 times for 57 yards, was booed loudly after a 3-yard loss late in the third quarter. But he said appearances can be deceiving.

"I ran the ball hard," Pittman said. "I know I probably didn't have that big of yardage, but if you were out there and saw me run, I was running as hard as I could, jumping over defenders and just trying to get what I could get done."

NOTHING NEW: Defensive tackle Warren Sapp did not play the final defensive series, but he said it had nothing to do with a lower back strain that limited his practice time last week.

"I don't play a lot of last series," Sapp said. "That's no reason to put my back in a position to where I can't go hunt (Brett) Favre and (Aaron) Brooks in another week.

"We played it smart. I went in and played my game and we got ourselves a win, and there's no reason to put myself in that position."

LOOK FAMILIAR? Keyshawn Johnson's 1-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter in which he started on the right wing and ran left across the formation, was a variation of a play the Bucs ran two weeks ago against Minnesota.

In that game, Johnson lined up in the same spot but ran a fade to the right.

"Pretty good stuff," Johnson said.

NOT SO FAST: Cornerback Ronde Barber looked to have his first touchdown of the season and the Bucs' fifth defensive score when he returned a Smith fumble 30 yards late in the fourth quarter.

But after a review, officials ruled that Smith touched the ball while out of bounds, returning possession to Carolina.

"I thought it was a touchdown," Barber said. "I saw it hit the ref's foot, but he's in play, he's part of the playing field, so I don't know who touched it."

HELPING HAND: Gramatica's 20-yard field-goal attempt in the second quarter appeared to be headed wide left when Carolina's Shane Burton tipped it up and over the crossbar.

Would it have been good otherwise? Gramatica wasn't saying.

"I know it went through," he said. "I'll take it."

SACK HAPPY: Defensive end Greg Spires' first-quarter sack extended the Bucs' streak to 54 games, the longest active streak in the league. The last time they did not get a sack was Oct. 3, 1999, against Minnesota.

STARTING YOUNG: Stona Savannah (girls 8-9) of Safety Harbor, Nakendra Newsome (girls 14-15) of Tampa and Matthew Edelman (boys 14-15) of New Port Richey placed first in their age groups in the NFL Gatorade Punt, Pass and Kick Team Championship.

Their scores will be compared with others from around the nation, with the top eight (four boys and four girls) in each group advancing to the National Finals at a playoff game to be determined.